Zanu-PF MPs & party candidates to pay for campaign vehicles

ZANU-PF Members of Parliament and party candidates will have to pay for the vehicles the party gave them to use in last year's harmonised elections.

The  vehicles, which the MPs and candidates have retained, were expected to have been returned to the party after the elections.

The decision by the party is expected to end months of uncertainty over what would become of the vehicles given to candidates to enable them to be mobile in the run up to the polls in which Zanuâ€"PF registered a resounding victory against the MDC-T.

Zanu-PF Members of Parliament held a caucus at the party headquarters on Wednesday where the message of the new development was conveyed to them.

Party chief whip, Joram Gumbo confirmed the development today.

"The party has agreed to sell those vehicles to MPs and I was informing the legislators officially of the party decision," said Gumbo.

"We are now in the process of establishing the cost of each category of the vehicle as you will know they were of different makes. What we are impressed with as legislators is that the party is no longer pursuing the idea of repossessing them," he said.

"We are now in the process of negotiating the possible price for each category of a vehicle and payment modalities."

Zanu-PF has also directed that losing party candidates would also retain the vehicles but should make payment plans for the vehicles.

All the campaign vehicles are off road, and include the latest Ford Rangers and Ford Everest.

The decision to have the legislators retain the vehicles is expected to go a long way in enhancing mobility as Treasury is still to provide funds for MPs under the Parliamentary Vehicle Loan scheme.